WASHINGTON, May 12 -- Sen. Jack Reed, D-Rhode Island, issued the following news release on May 11, 2023: Today marks the official end of the COVID-19 national emergency and public health emergency declarations. Going forward, the federal coronavirus response is restructured to treat the virus as an endemic threat to public health -- not a pandemic -- that can be treated like other respiratory illnesses and managed through federal agencies' normal authorities. "COVID exposed a lot of hard truth  more

WASHINGTON, May 10 -- Sen. Jack Reed, D-Rhode Island, issued the following news release: In an effort to empower consumers and put Americans in control of their personal information and credit reports, U.S. Senators Jack Reed (D-RI) and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) introduced the Consumer Credit Control Act (S. 1327). This bill would amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act to give consumers control over when and how their consumer reports are shared by credit bureaus. It would also help cut down on so-c  more

PROVIDENCE, Rhode Island, May 9 -- Sen. Jack Reed, D-Rhode Island, issued the following news release on May 8, 2023: A 2022 study estimated that 31 percent of Rhode Island households were unable to afford enough food to feed their families, resulting in a growing number of residents utilizing charitable food pantries and meal sites across the state. In an effort to make fresh produce and local ingredients easier to access and afford, U.S. Senator Jack Reed today delivered a new $812,000 federa  more

WASHINGTON, May 12 -- Sen. Jack Reed, D-Rhode Island, issued the following news release on May 11, 2023: New federal funding is now available to modernize and upgrade eligible federally-assisted multifamily housing serving low-income residents to cut energy bills and reduce pollution, thanks to a provision U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) helped include in the Inflation Reduction Act (P.L. 117-169). The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) today rolled out the Green and Resilien  more

WASHINGTON, May 11 -- Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-Rhode Island, chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, issued the following news release on May 10, 2023: U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Budget Committee, delivered the following opening statement at today's hearing entitled, "Lessons Learned: Leadership Perspectives and Experience on the National Costs of Climate Change." Chairman Whitehouse's remarks, as prepared for delivery: Ranking member Grassley, me  more

WASHINGTON, May 12 -- Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-Rhode Island, chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, issued the following opening statement at a hearing on May 3, 2023, entitled "Who Pays the Price: The Real Cost of Fossil Fuels": * * * Ranking Member Grassley, colleagues, welcome to our seventh Committee hearing on the economic and budgetary perils of dependence on fossil fuels. We have heard testimony from non-partisan, knowledgeable industry leaders about the threat climate change poses   more

WASHINGTON, May 11 -- Sen. Jack Reed, D-Rhode Island, issued the following news release on May 10, 2023: As Congressional Republicans continue targeting the budgets of federal law enforcement agencies such as the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI), a senior member of the Senate Appropriations subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies (CJS), today questioned FBI Director Christopher Wray and U.S. Drug Enforce  more

WASHINGTON, May 12 -- Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-Rhode Island, issued the following news release on May 11, 2023: U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) today cheered the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's new regulations on greenhouse gas pollution from coal and gas-fired power plants. "Coal and gas-fired power plants have been given a free pass to pollute for too long, and I'm very pleased to see the EPA take this strong stand today. "EPA's proposal will cut down on the emissions drivin  more

WASHINGTON, May 11 -- Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-Rhode Island, issued the following news release and letter: Following bombshell reporting by ProPublica and the Washington Post detailing new ethics scandals around the Supreme Court, U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) sent a letter to the Judicial Conference urging the body to be more transparent about its procedures for considering potential violations of the law by Supreme Court justices, and to inform the public of how the Judicial Confer  more

WASHINGTON, May 12 -- Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-Rhode Island, issued the following news release: U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) has joined colleagues to reintroduce the bipartisan College Transparency Act, which would provide students and families better information to compare higher education opportunities. The College Transparency Act would modernize the college reporting system for postsecondary data by providing accurate reporting on student outcomes such as enrollment, completion,  more

WASHINGTON, May 12 -- Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-Rhode Island, issued the following news release: U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) has joined colleagues to reintroduce legislation to expand protections against election interference during the ballot counting and certification processes. "Election workers are on the frontlines defending our democracy, and deserve to be protected while performing their jobs," said Whitehouse. "Our Protecting Election Administration from Interference Act ex  more